Massachusetts Senate passes statewide school cellphone ban bill

BOSTON — A bill that would ban cell phones in all public schools statewide is advancing to the Massachusetts House after being passed by the Senate.

Senate lawmakers passed the legislation with widespread support on Thursday afternoon.

The universal policy banning the use of cell phones throughout the school day in all public-school districts could take effect just over a year from now, at the start of the 2026 school year.

A statement from House leadership said, “The House looks forward to reviewing the legislation that the Senate sends over.”

House lawmakers could either sign off on the bill passed by the Senate or release their own version of a cell phone ban bill for schools.

“We’ve heard a lot of support for this legislation because so many people recognize that cell phones in schools are a major distraction from student learning and student mental health,” said Senator Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education.

Senator Lewis, who has led the effort to ban cell phones in schools, said about 80 percent of school districts in Massachusetts already have some sort of cell phone policy in place.

This would require more than 300 districts across the state to align their cell phone policies with a set of rules established by lawmakers.

Those policies must include a “bell-to-bell” ban on student access to personal electronic devices during the school day.

“I think the use of cell phones is just way out of control,” said Natalie Simon of Gloucester. “To have kids with them in their hands, over the course of the school day, I think it’s kind of a no-brainer that it interferes with learning.”

Districts would also be required to provide a method for parents or guardians and students to contact each other during the school day if there’s a legitimate need to do so.

The bill defines a personal electronic device as any portable electronic device “capable of providing voice communication, text messaging, or other data communication between two or more parties or devices, or capable of connecting to a smartphone or other personal electronic device, the internet, or a cellular or Wi-Fi network, or provides application usage.”

That includes mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, and Bluetooth-enabled devices.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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